Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

Bruney back tomorrow; Wang decision looming

Brian Bruney will be activated from the disabled list tomorrow, Yankees manager Joe Girardi has confirmed. The Yankees will lose a reliever as Girardi said it was unlikely they will carry a 12-man staff.

Bruney had some interesting comments pre-game in which he blamed Major League Baseball’s use of instant replay for his strained flexor tendon. He attributes it to the April 19 game at Yankee Stadium, where a Jorge Posada home run was reviewed by umpires.

The original call on the field stood, with Posada credited with a two-run dinger off Cleveland’s Jensen Lewis, but the review took 8 ½ minutes to complete and Bruney said that he continued throwing throughout the delay.

“I turned around to see the replay, and it was obvious to me by the first replay that it was a home run – which is what they called it anyway,” Bruney said. “I don’t know what the 8 ½ minutes was all about.”

Bruney appeared two days later on April 21 but felt weak, allowing a run on two hits to the A’s, and was subsequently placed on the disabled list. Bruney said he lodged a complaint with the MLB Players Association about the delay and was told the play was reviewed from a remote location.

“I don’t know if somebody was on a lunch break or what, but something went wrong,” Bruney said. “That’s a long time for any pitcher to be throwing. That’s a long inning, plus another long inning. But I’m back.”

Chien-Ming Wang will come to New York for “a change of scenery” tomorrow and throw a bullpen, after which the Yankees will make a decision about his next start, but it does not sound like it will come with the Yankees. There are still concerns about command, as his sinker was high in the zone. His velocity was OK, averaging between 88-92 mph, Girardi said.

Additionally, Brett Gardner has a contusion of his right rotator cuff after his slide into home plate yesterday. He had an MRI today and Girardi said he is day-to-day.

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34 Comments

Ramiro Peña does absolutely not show signs of Jeter’s offense back in his heyday. But we have to start looking at the future: the four remaining members of those ’90s championship teams are all on the decline, with Mo looking the best of the lot.
Dunno about Romine but I hear Montero is all offense and no–or very little–defense. Those guys may or not be better, but Cervelli is here and making a difference. (Remember: the devil you know…) And if it continues, well…Also, all things being equal (offense/defense) btwn Molina and Cervelli, the latter has the edge w/youth and speed.
To everyone who caught a glimpse of a future w/o Mo in the 9th, and was dismayed at the sight of Coke closing a game, I ask this: how would you have felt if it were Joba there instead? Confident, right? THAT is why Joba needs to be Mo’s heir. (Uh-oh, here come the knives! hahaha)

36 pitches/22 strikes, 92-93 is about all you can expect from Coke. Crede worked him for a ten pitch walk and Gomez seven. And……oh yea, he made it work!!! Giving Mo the rest could be huge for us! Calling that terrible is criminal, but then Matt is well versed with life under a tail!!!

Is Buffet Boy Bruney Pavano V2 w/o the contract? He got tired throwing 8 1/2 minutes during the replay. Give me a break. The Thermometer’s velocity is down? Does that mean his fat ball is around 80 now? He sucks & so does Veras. What sucks more is scoring 6 runs in the first & then winning 7-6. The sweep was nice but how about beating teams that count?

Lot’s of good comments. I almost lost it when Girardi brought Veras in last night. One of his most unreliable relievers to pitch in one of the key moments in the ballgame. Veras and Ramirez were great last year, but obviously something’s off. Sterling pointed out Ramirez’ decrease in velocity–is the coaching staff noticing??
Otherwise, some great defense! Pena and Cervelli have really added some spark to this team, along with ARod’s return.

I’m not saying any of them are there yet, not by a long shot, but it was a cool moment in the 9th when Cervelli and Peña went over to the mound to talk to Coke, instead of, say, Jeter and Posada. Kinda like a glimpse into the next generation of Yankees. I’m rooting for the kids, particularly Joba, Melky, Cervelli, and Peña. And Canó, of course.

I also thought it was funny, post-game, when Coke acknowledged Mo’s stature and the difficulty of saving a game, and then told the press in the clubhouse how he was waiting for them to play “Enter Sandman” over the PA during his rocky 9th and have Mo come to the rescue.

Looks like the Pirates grabbed Steven Jackson off waivers. These guys seem to be all over any of the pitchers that the Yankees don’t have locked down. Looks like some of the guys that couldn’t produce in NY are doing OK in Pittsburgh though. Olendorf looks like he’s throwing the ball well for them.

Man, we squeeked one out tonight. Not pretty but got it done in the first inning and held on for another win. Nothing’s coming easy yet. Need to have some blow out games. But we got the sweep so should be happy with that.

Why are we going through this agony in the 9th? Is Mo that tired he can’t pitch to a couple of batters? Phil is not getting it done. He’s losing the batters. Too many walks. We haven’t really been able to rely on the bull pen all year whoever it is.

Always has to be a nail biter to the end. Yankees up 6-2 in the second inning and now it’s 7-6 with 2 outs in the 9th. Phil Coke pitching. No Mo. Bull Pen shaky again.I guess Mo is tired after the past few games but he needs to pitch to this last batter or we could miss the sweep.

Chien-Ming Wang will not benefit the Yankees on the field when he returns. He will lift a burden off of the Yankees clubhouse when he throws an okay game with about 4 or fewer runs. And Bruney should not be making comments about the league where he recieves his paycheck!

Great. The bull pen is playing it’s usual game. Ramirez gives up a home run to Spam(or whatever his name is), a no name hitter. And he’s got Mauer and Morneau coming up after Harris. He can’t even get through one inning. That’s what has been killing this club all year and in spite of the winning streak the bull pen is still a crappy bull pen. Hopefully Bruney coming back will bolster it up some.

Unfortunately I can’t watch the game on TV tonight. Up our way it’s only on PPV. I’m watching it on game-pitch-by-pitch on the computer which is not very exciting and I can’t really see what’s going on other than getting the statistical information.

We all knew Swish was a career .250 hitter who could power one out of the park now and then. He carried this team in April but let’s face it, he’s back down to Earth now and with Nady back, he’ll be on the bench. Probably giving Tex a day off.

Looks like Tex is finally in the groove. All that work by the hitting coach is paying off. Tex is usually a slow starter so I guess running true to form. I think ARod batting behind him takes the pressure off him and pitchers have to pitch to him. Too bad there wasn’t anyone on base

Finally, Joe took Petitte out. He almost waited too long and was lucky it’s not tied. Veras got a batter out for the third out. He always makes me nervous. Hopefully he won’t come back out for the next inning. Yankees had this game in the bag and not they’re running the risk of losing it. They need every win they can get. They can’t depend on the Blue Jays and Red Sox losing. And Tampa is winning big tonight too.

Why does Girardi leave Petitte in too long every game. You can’t leave him in past 80 pitches or 5 innings. That’s all he’s capable of going any longer. He tires and loses the strike zone and gives up too many hits. He’s going to blow this lead if Girardi leaves him in any longer.

Thanks Bryan for getting bpark’s and saiki’s offensive and crude comments eliminated from the blog. It’s too bad a couple of people spoil it for the rest of us. I hope they don’t leave Petitte in any longer. Said before he’s usually in trouble after 80 pitches and tonight is no exception.

one of5 if it is true as you state that management has been reading this blog about small ball I have to ask 2 questions. Why the HeLL aren’t those of us who suggested small ball managing this club? I am sure Girardi and company are making more $$$ they most of us so if our suggestions are being followed why the HeLL aren’t we managing?

Back again after being away for a few days. I thought for sure the Yankees were going to lose the last three games when I saw the score in the late innings. They haven’t been a team this year to come back in the late innings. The bull pen hasn’t got it done and they haven’t got clutch hits in the late innings to drive in runs. They pulled it off the last three games and I was certainly relieved when I saw the final score. I wasn’t able to watch the games where I was. However, since coming back I’ve read some of the blogs beating up on the bloggers who have been criticizing this team. Well, the criticism has been deserved. They were a 500 club up to a few games ago and with the total salaries on this team they should be far ahead of 500. The bull pen has been crappy up to the last few games and the big ticket guys haven’t been hitting. Good to see Tex and Rodriguez delivering. Hope it continues. Damon has been the most reliable hitter over the past number of games and hopefully he stays healthy. The starting pitching has been going deeper into games lately as well. But do 5 or 6 games a year make? I’m still skeptical about this team contending for the Division title or the World Series. They still don’t have a strong and deep bench. The bull pen is still not established or consistent. There are still too many weak spots and the team hasn’t been managed well. I think management has been reading these blogs lately because a number of bloggers have been crying for small ball–sacrifice bunts, sacrifice flies, aggressive base running, hitting to the oppositive field etc. etc. Finally they’ve begun to do that. It hasn’t taken a long time to get the message. I’m still not sure this team is going to catch the Blue Jays who just swept the White Sox. Anyway, there are positive signs going forward and I only hope that it’s going to continue and we’re not going back to the lacklustre, conservative, incompetent ball we saw for the first 25 games. I’ll breathe easier when the Yankees record is 25-15.

Andy goes tonight, I hope he has some good stuff and go 7+ innings. We need a good game from him, If he can get past the first two innings without blowing up we should win. … I agree with an earlier blog post that we are giving up entirely too many WALKS, And throwing too many pitches. Thereby can’t go 7…..
This is a quote from David Ortiz….This could answer a lot of question on why the Yanks were not fully into the game… Hopefully they’ve finally realized this!……
“People don’t know. It’s hard to have a free open mind you need to play this game. There’s no way you can play this game with a busy mind. No way.”…….
“Go YANKEES!”

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